MaXplosion blows up on iPhone – game review

Does Capcom’s controversial clone of ‘Splosion Man bring shame upon a trusted publisher, or is it just good, clean platforming fun on a budget?

MaXplosion (iPhone) – a damp squib

They say all publicity is good publicity and it’s true we’d probably never have reviewed this game if it weren’t for the controversy over plagiarism . The claim is that this is not only an obvious clone of Twisted Pixel’s Xbox Live Arcade game ‘Splosion Man, but that the developer actually pitched the game to Capcom before its release and were turned down.Capcom’s response has been that their mobile division is entirely separate from their console business and that they had no idea that Twisted Pixel and Capcom had ever met. That’s more than possible and Twisted Pixel’s comment that the ‘similarities are pretty nauseating’ blithely ignores the fact that video games have been ripping each other offer for decades.The only real question is whether MaXplosion is a good game or not, which is what we’re now going to try and answer. The plot, for what it’s worth, casts you as a little red devil called Max as he tries to escape from the Ministry of All Destruction (M.A.D.). He does so through a series of ambiguously futuristic cityscapes as he faces off against M.A.D.’s cartoonish private army.Capcom’s mobile team might not have been aware of their parent company’s involvement with Twisted Pixel, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a blatant clone of ‘Splosion Man. Although Max runs around in a typical platformer style manner, rather than jumping he’s able to explode three times in a row and use the resulting momentum to reach higher ground.Naturally these explosions also come in handy when dealing with enemies, since Max seems to have left his pitchfork and other demonic accoutrements at home. There’s not much else to the game, although there is a range of collectables to snag along the way and various stock platform obstacles (such as spiky ceilings) and more specific anti-exploding demon ones (like buckets of water).With 17 stages to explore there’s plenty of content and although it does run out of ideas before the end so did ‘Splosion Man. Where the two differ the most is, predictably, the controls. Like most iOS games trying to replicate a joypad style control system MaXplosion is forced to make some pretty serious compromises.A little virtual slider is provided at the bottom of the screen, along with a big red button to set off explosions, but running feels vague and woolly. There’s an awful lot of inertia to Max’s movements, which when combined with the length of the slider makes precise movement far too difficult. This is fine for the first few stages, but once you get onto the harder levels – where complex triple jumps are needed to proceed – it does all becomes less forgivable.But then you remember that the game only cost 59p and suddenly the slightly wonky controls, which are as much the iPhone’s fault as the game’s, seem that much more tolerable. Especially as there’s actually quite a bit of reply value in terms of timed targets and hidden collectables – as well as an online leaderboard.Even ‘Splosion Man is more than 10 times the price and we simply don’t accept that MaXplosion being a clone is any reason to chastise it. If it’s proven that Capcom stole the idea while Twisted Pixel were courting publishers that clearly would be deplorable, but if the complaint is simply that they copied the same idea then there’s not a developer in the world who’s not guilty of the same crime.The fact is MaXplosion offers excellent value for money, some neatly designed levels and cheerful graphics for barely more than the price of a first class stamp. It’d be nice if it was an original idea as well, but you get what you pay for.In Short:It’s an obvious clone of ‘Splosion Man, but it’s also a pretty good one – and in the world of gaming that’s all that’s ever really mattered.Pros:Decent level design and plenty of them. Good graphics and a fair amount of replay value. Extraordinarily good value for money.Cons:The gameplay owes almost everything to Twisted Pixel’s Xbox Live Arcade title. Although they’re a reasonable idea the controls aren’t precise enough.Score:6/10Formats: iOS (iPhone reviewed)Price: 59pPublisher: CapcomDeveloper: CapcomRelease Date: 6th January 2011Age Rating: 9+